This aptly titled concert featuring Australian coloratura Rachelle Durkin was a thrilling demonstration of a genuine stage animal in peak vocal and dramatic form.

Also featuring a sublimely musical and lovingly delivered cello concerto from visiting Hungarian cellist Kinga Gáborjáni, Artistic Director Helen Kruger and the Australian Baroque (supported by WA Opera) contribute further to their ever-interesting, innately dramatic, and emotionally engaging programming.

Rachelle Durkin and Australian Baroque: Un bellissimo fuocco. Photo © Brad Coleman

There is welcome room in the Australian operatic landscape for performances of lesser-known and performed opera and chamber works of the Baroque and Early music eras, and certainly the presence of internationally trained and experienced singers and instrumentalists in WA ranks, evidenced in this concert.

The audience for Thursday evening’s performance at Boola Bardip was plentiful and highly appreciative of the calibre of talent on display, along with the opportunity to hear works rarely heard – perhaps owing to their devilish technical demands.

AB’s resident harpsichordist James Huntingford began proceedings with a harpsichord prelude of Jimmy Hendrix-like proportions, worthy of performance by Handel himself, as was reported to us indeed took place in the first Rinaldo performance.

There...